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Unionist Party
The Unionist Party is a minor regional party in the state of Seven. Founded in 1912, it was originally a broad-based movement with the sole aim of removing Oliver Flint from his gubernatorial position. After they finally won the 1915 state elections, the party began to adhere to a set of specific policies. History Early years After Henri James Rutherford, Jr. became the first Unionist governor, the Unionists were able to maintain their position as the leading political party for three terms. One of their leading slogans was simply 'Equality' and the party was responsible for establishing a formal constitutional basis for the state with the passing of the Seven Basic Law. The unpopularity of Samuel Sawyer, however, resulted in the party losing the 1921 election to fascist candidate James Nelson. Split and years in opposition The victory of Nelson was regarded as a freak event and the Unionists felt confident that they could regain power the next election. However, a split had begun to form between the left- and right-wings of the party over the best way to deal with the economic crisis threatening to overwhelm Seven. One part, led by party leader Henri Burton, maintained that progressive taxation and government intervention were crucial, while the other, led by Erick Simon, preferred classical liberal policies. The highly public dispute tarnished the image of the party, and when Burton was defeated by Nelson in the 1923 election, he loudly blamed the liberal wing for not supporting him enough and split off to form his own Socialist Party. Both parties struggled to gain popularity after the events that had occurred and in the face of Nelson's charisma. In 1927 Nelson was finally defeated and replaced by independent Horatius Domingo, but after Domingo died in his first year of office and was replaced undemocratically by Nelson, Simon grew desperate and agreed to endorse Burton at the next election in return for concessions on the State Council. Burton's victory in 1929 led to seven terms of Socialist dominance. He defeated the embattled Simon in both the 1931 and 1933 elections, and his successor William Trumbel in the next four. It was not until 1943, after 22 years in opposition, that the Unionists finally put their candidate Trumbel into the governor's position. Regain of power and establishment of a two-party system Trumbel remained in office a single term, being replaced by fellow Unionist Kinley mayor Kirtsen Blacksmith, who was defeated in 1947 by Socialist Heather Tinley after proof emerged he had embezzled money from the state. By now, a two-party system has been established and Unionist and Socialist governors alternated almost continuously until they became part of the Lovian Democratic Party, which was unpopular and led to a dramatic fall in support. The fortunes of the Unionist Party rose dramatically, and they delivered a series of popular governors, such as Gregory J.H. Mertens, Thomas Percivals and William Trumbel III. Since 2000 Since the new electoral rules of 2003, the Unionists have not succeeded in winning an election, partly because the rules no longer favour them and partly because of the rise of nationwide parties with larger budgets and better recognition. They went into electoral coalition with the party Freedom First from 2003 to 2007, with William Trumbel III holding a seat in Congress from 2003 to 2006. As of 2012, they have an electoral agreement with another local party, 7. List of party leaders Governors are in bold. *Samuel Sawyer: 1912-1915 *'Henri James Rutherford, Jr.': 1915-1919 *'Samuel Sawyer': 1919-1921 *Henri Burton: 1921-1923 *Erick Simon: 1923-1934 *William Trumbel: 1934-1941 *'William Trumbel': 1941-1943 *'Kirtsen Blacksmith': 1943-1945 *William Trumbel: 1945-1948 *Davis Miller: 1948-1956 *'Davis Miller: 1956-1962' *Davis Miller: 1962-1966 *'Davis Miller': 1966-1970 *Gregory J.H. Mertens: 1970-1974 *'Gregory J.H. Mertens': 1974-1982 *Thomas Percivals: 1982-1986 *'Thomas Percivals': 1986-1988 *Helen Zinchenko: 1988-1995 *William Trumbel III: 1995-1998 *'William Trumbel III': 1998-2000 *Israel Karlin: 2000-2005 *William Trumbel III: 2005-2008 *Israel Karlin: 2008-2011 *Ann Miller: 2011-present Category:Politics in Seven